Alone? Or Not!
by Yaruhi
Summary: Sasuke is all alone since his clan's death. Or is he? A new girl called Hiyume joins cell 7. She holds a shocking secret from Sasuke's past that will change his life forever. Can Hiyume keep Sasuke from ruining his life in his haste to avenge his clan?R
1. The other Uchiha

Hello, my' name is Uchiha Ayame. That's right, I am a member of the Uchiha clan. I'm thirteen years old, with long black hair that reaches my' hips, and onyx eyes. But for the past six years, I've been known as Teochi Hiyume. You see, when I was seven years old, My' second cousin, Uchiha Itachi, Decided to annihilate his' clan. But he missed me and I was taken to live with a friend of my' mother's in the Village hidden in Grass.

I recently found out that I am not the only surviving member of my' clan. Apparently Itachi spared his' younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke and I were always close. We were best friends when we were young.

I've traveled to Konoha, where I am told he lives. I want to meet him but I've decided to keep who I am a secret for a while. I've heard that Sasuke has changed a lot from when I knew him, and I'd like to observe him for a while, before revealing who I am. Sincce he believes I'm dead. It shouldn't be too difficult.

Wish me luck!

* * *

Sensei Kakashi called our team over to him. _Now what?_ I wondered. Sakura was standing next to me, attempting to grab hold of my' hand. _Ugh! As if Sakura!_ I crossed my' arms over my' chest, squashing her intentions.

Master Kakshi cleared his throat and said, "Now listen up! Aaaas of today, cell 7 is going to take on a new team member."

"A new teammate?! AWESOME!!" Naruto exclaimed loudly.

I looked at Kakashi in annoyance. _Great! That's all I need, another Baka to slow me down. _Of course with my' luck I'd get stuck with some weakling.

"Up till now, she's been training in The Village Hidden in Grass." Kakashi continued.

* * *

Sakura's head shot up. "She?"

"Yes Sakura, it's a girl, her' name is Teochi Hiyume, and from what I'm told, she's quite a fighter." Kakshi replied.

_Well maybe she'll be a little stronger than these morons. _I thought with a sigh.

"When will we meet her?" Naruto fairly shouted.

"Right now." Said a soft, slightly amused voice from behind. We turned to see the fifth Hokage standing there. Next to her, stood a teenage girl with long black hair, an ivory complexion, and eyes about the same color as mine. She was slender and slightly on the shorter side with a good figure. She wore mostly black, accented with gray and a little bit of white. She did not appear to be bubbly or silly like most of the girls in Konoha. Instead her' face held a look of calm seriousness.

The Fifth spoke up saying, "Kakashi Sensei, cell 7, I would like to introduce to you, Teochi Hiyume. Hiyume, this is Kakshi. He will be your' new sensei. And this is cell 7, Hurano Sakura, Uzukima Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke.

Hiyume nodded to each of us in turn. Her' eyes met mine and I felt a shiver run up my' spine. Those eyes… they were so like the eyes of someone I had once known…

* * *

I pretended to pay close attention as the Fifth Hokage gave a little orientation speech, but I studied Sasuke out of the corner of my' eye. There was no doubt about it in my' mind that he was Sasuke. He hadn't changed much in the looks department, besides getting taller and stronger. But I saw in his' face and eyes, a certain determined hostility that I did not recognize from the old Sasuke. I felt I knew whom that hostility was meant for.

"Sakura, until other arrangements can be made, would you consent to the prospect of Hiyume staying with you?" Sakura nodded, causing her' short, pink hair to bounce up and down. "Sure Hokage, Hiyume can stay with me."

The Fifth smiled. "Thank you Sakura." Turning to Kakashi she said, "Well, I guess I'll leave the five of you to your' training."

Kakashi nodded. "Thank you for bringing Hiyume by." He said.

"Oh, no problem." The Fifth called as she walked back towards her' office.

* * *

After the fifth had left, Kakashi turned to Hiyume saying, "Well, why don't you tell us a little about your' self?"

Hiyume looked at him, an unreadable expression on her' face. "Such as?"

Kakashi smiled. "Well since we already know your' name, things like: your' hobbies, your' likes, your' dislikes, your' goals for the future… that type of thing."

I remembered back to when Kakashi sensei had asked the rest of us this very question, on our' first day training with him. We had asked him to start, so as to give us an example. His' answers had been so vague that they gave us no information whatsoever.

Hiyume nodded. "Lets see… My' hobbies, it would take to long to name them… My' likes, well anything that pleases me…"

I heard Sakura attempting to stifle a giggle.

"My' dislikes, anything that does not please me… My' goals," she smirked. "Well that's for me to know and you to wonder about."

Naruto burst out laughing and Sakura finally couldn't keep that giggle back any longer. Even I had a hard time suppressing a smile.

Kakashi nodded. "Well said. Now how about finding out some more important thing about you, shall we say… how well you can manipulate your' chakura?"

She nodded and followed Kakashi to the center of the training grounds.

* * *

After training I followed Sakura back to her' home. I was greeted by her' family, all of which were very hospitable.

It was decided that I would share Sakura's room as a visiting relative was currently occupying the guest room.

I soon learned that the Hokage couldn't have sent me to a better place. Sakura was an expert on Sasuke and it took next to no work on my' part to start her talking about him.

I smiled to my' self as Sakura continued to ramble on about his' personality. This was going to be much easier than first I had thought.

* * *

**Hey everyone!**

**Sorry this is such a short chapter; it's pretty much an intro for the rest of the story.**

**But before I go any farther there is something I want to get strait right now! **

**I am NOT a Sasuke fan girl!! (Or any type of fan girl for that matter.)**

**Okay, I just wanted to make certain everyone understood that.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it. **

**Reviews are greatly appreciated. (No flames please.)**

**Mata Kondo, _(Until next time,)_**

**Yaruhi**


	2. Bring it on!

**Hey everybody! **

**So sorry it has taken me so long to **

**update this chappie. I'll try to hurry **

**and post the next one soon. **

**Enjoy!**

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**_Sasuke's POV:_**

I hurled a Demon Wind Shuriken at the target. _Almost dead center;_ I was improving.

"Yo! Sasuke!" a voice behind me called. I turned to see Shikamaru sprinting towards me.

"Yo!" I turned back to my' practicing.

Shikamaru stopped. "Okay, I know that you probably aren't in a very gabby mood right now. And that's fine with me. But I've got to ask you a question." He held up his' hands as a gesture of innocence. "Ino's orders."

I sighed. _Stupid fan girls!_ "Kore wa nan desu ka?" (_What is it?_)

"Ino has been pestering me like crazy to find out about the new girl…what's her' name?"

"Hiyume." I replied.

"Okay Hiyume, she wants to know if you find her' attractive and if she's going to be any "competition". Crazy I know, but you know how Ino is."

I sighed _again_. I'd been doing a lot of that lately. "Tell Ino that Hiyume hasn't got any more chance of getting my' attention than any other girl in Konoha. We haven't even said one word to each other."

Shikamaru nodded. "Okay, thanks." He smirked suddenly. "Ino's orders were to spy on you and find out that way, but I figured if I simply asked you, it would be a whole lot less work for me." He waved and headed off in the direction from which he'd come.

_Stupid fan girls!_

* * *

**_Hiyume's POV:_**

I awoke to something flying past my' head. I looked over to my' left to see Sakura's feet sticking out of the closet. The bedroom looked as though a cyclone had hit it; clothing everywhere! I ducked as yet another blouse flew over my' head.

"Um…Sakura?"

A muffled "_Nani_" came from somewhere within the closet.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Trying to find something suitable to wear." She replied.

I looked at the piles of clothes that surrounded me. "Won't any of these things work?"

"No! Asuma is on a mission, so Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino are going to be practicing with us today. I'll be in competition with Ino for Sasuke and Ino always looks perfect. I can't let her show me up.

I vaguely recalled Sakura having said that Ino was her' rival. "Ummm, not that I'm an expert or anything, but Sasuke seems like the type of person who would be attracted more by' your' inner qualities, than what you're wearing."

"Maybe," she agreed. "But I still want to look perfect! Would you help me? PLEASE!!"

I sighed and, pushing back the comforter, walked over to the closet and began leafing through Sakura's many set's of clothes.

* * *

_(A little while later...)_

We arrived at the Training grounds to find Sasuke and Naruto already there along with a girl (whom I correctly guessed to be Ino) and two boys who were introduced to me as Shikamaru, and Chouji.

After a little over an hour and a half, Kakashi arrived.

"There you are!" Sakura exclaimed. She promptly began to scold Kakashi for being late.

"What took so long?" She demanded once she had finished.

"I ran into a group of gypsies. They knocked me out, tied me up, and locked me into a dungeon. I had to fight three dragons and a bull dog to escape." Kakashi said in an innocent voice.

_Oooookaaaaay?_

The other team stared at him like he was insane; which was basically how he sounded.

Sakura rolled her' eyes, and I guessed that this kind of thing must happen a lot.

"His excuses get lamer every time." Sasuke grumbled to no one in particular, prooving my' theory correct.

Although I was thinking somewhere along the same lines, I kept silent. I wasn't going to start out my' first full day in Konoha by getting on my' sensei's bad side. Not a smart thing to do!

After we warmed up and he had set the others to practicing some jutsu, Kakashi came back over to where I was still standing.

"Now, I want to see what you can really do." He said. "Tsunada told me who you really are, and I won't tell anyone your' secret, but I can't train you if I don't know what you can do."

I nodded. "Alright, but I really don't want anyone else to see."

"That's fine." He said. "We'll go over here; they won't be able to see us from where they are."

When we reached the far side of the training grounds Kakashi said, "Since you don't have a sparring partner, you can fight me and I just won't use my' full strength. He smiled slightly under his' mask. I've heard that in grass you're known as the fire dancer. That ought to be interesting"

I smirked and settled into a stance. He did the same.

For a while neither of us moved a muscle.

Then, in less time than it took to blink an eye, he charged. I sidestepped and he whirled to come at me again. I back flipped while hurling several fire needles at him. (Fire needles are needles that inject a special acid into the opponent's body. The acid burns up the person's chakura.)

He evaded all of my' needles and threw at least twenty shuriken at me.

I easily evaded them. He was testing me, I could tell. Starting out with the easier attacks and working up to the harder ones. Well I would do the same. I decided. As the challenges became more difficult so would my' responses.

* * *

**_Kakashi's POV:_**

We went back and fourth for at least two hours.

She was really quite powerful.

But I still had not seen anything that resembled dancing.

I decided to perform a number of really intricate moves, to see how she would react when faced with a major challenge.

I activated my' Sharingan.

She smirked as if to say, 'it's about time!' and activated hers'. It was amazing how much she looked like Sasuke at that point.

I began several complicated jutsus that would be tough even for a Jounin like my' self to overcome.

She watched me carefully, her' dark red eyes taking in and analyzing every move I made.

I made several attempts to trap her into admitting defeat but somehow she was always able to find a way out.

I wondered if she would ever make an offensive move, thus far everything she had done had been defensive.

Suddenly her' expression changed and she rose up from her' fighting stance. She balanced on one foot lifting her' other leg to the back and pulling it up high. She skillfully curved her' back so that her' foot was suspended directly above her' forehead. The stance resembled that of a scorpion in which the scorpion's curved tail curves up and the stinger ends up over the scorpion's head. She lifted her' arms up and back so that they reminded me of the wings of a bird when it is in flight. The stance was graceful, and obviously required a lot of strength and flexibility.

I watched carefully as she grabbed a hold of her' foot with one hand and brought the other down in front of her, forming a sign with it.

_What is she up to? _I wondered.

She smiled slightly and shouted, "Cavern of Fire no jutsu!" she let go of her' foot and it swung down and up the other side of her' in a single, fluent, circular motion The momentum lifting her high off the ground. She executed a back flip and landed with one foot out in front of her and her' standing leg in a 'demi plie' position. (Somewhat bent at the knee.)

The moment her' feet touched the earth the air around us was filled with flames as though we were in side a dome of fire.

* * *

**_Hiyume's POV:_**

I returned to a fighting stance and looked at Kakashi trying to read his' expression. That darn mask he wears makes it difficult.

Then he spoke. "I take it that was what they meant when they called you the Fire Dancer?"

"I find that dancing improves control over the element of fire." I explained.

He nodded. "I can't argue you there as you obviously have figured out how to control it pretty well."

"Thank you," I replied.

"Well, I think I've seen enough to get a good idea of your' abilities, and as the rest of the kids should be getting back any moment, why don't we stop for now and continue this later?" Kakashi suggested.

I nodded. I didn't want Sasuke seeing me with my' Sharingan activated. That would pretty much give me away.

Just as I deactivated my' Sharingan, a loud screaming broke out at the other end of the training grounds.

Kakashi and I sprinted towards the sound wondering what the heck was wrong.

The sight that met my' eyes was not at all what I had expected to see.

I saw three shinobi, two boys and a girl, that I didn't know. From their' headbands I saw that they were from the Village Hidden in Sand. The girl who appeared to be the eldest of the trio had blond hair tied up into four spiky ponytails, and she held a large fan in her' left hand. The youngest of the three was a boy with fiery red hair, and slate blue eyes with no eyebrows. The kanji for 'love' was imprinted on his' forehead.

Both of them stood smirking at their' teammate, a tall boy dressed completely in black who was struggling to fend off a very furious Sakura and a livid Ino.

The girl chuckled and said, "Really Kankuro, if you want to get a girl to like you, you shouldn't start out by insulting the guy that she has a crush on."

Comprehension flashed through my' mind. _Oh…so that's what happened._

Ino and Sakura continued to attack the boy…what was his' name? Kankuro? While shrieking things along the lines of, "I'll kill you!" and "How dare you insult _my'_ Sasuke kun!"

Kankuro glared up at the girl. "Come on Temari, give me a little help, will ya?"

The girl shook her' head laughing. "No way! This is far too entertaining."

Kankuro turned to the red haired boy pleadingly. "Gaara?"

Gaara cocked his' lack of eyebrow and stared at Kankuro, an amused expression on his' face.

Kankuro rolled his' eyes. "Aw, come on! Somebody get these two maniacs off of me!"

Shikamaru rolled his' eyes. "Troublesome women!" he reached out with his' shadow possession jutsu and froze the two girls before they teared the sand nin to shreds.

"THANK YOU!!" Kankuro gasped dramatically.

"Oh Jeeze!" Temari exclaimed. "Kankuro, if you can't handle a couple of love sick weaklings like those two, your' weaker than I thought."

"Who are you calling a weakling?!" Ino and Sakura shouted in unison.

Temari smirked. "I see that you don't deny the 'love sick' part."

"SHIKA LET US GO SO WE CAN MURDER THAT WITCH!" Ino shouted.

Shikamaru shrugged and released them so quickly that they fell, landing on the ground with a hard _thud!_

I looked away to hide my' smile. It was hard not to laugh though, those two were so ridiculous at times!

"Alright, that's enough." Kakashi called out. All three of the teams turned towards him.

Kakashi addressed the Sand ninja. "What are the three of you doing out here?" He asked.

Temari spoke up. "We have returned to Konoha on a diplomatic mission. You know…Kazekage stuff." She nodded towards the red haired boy. "We just stopped by to say hello."

I elbowed Sasuke who stood next to me and whispered, "What exactly does she mean by 'Kazekage stuff'?"

"Gaara is the new Kazekage of the Village Hidden in Sand." He replied.

"Oh." I fell silent as I saw he was not in a very talkative mood.

"Well, it's nice to see the three of you again." Kakashi was saying. "I don't believe you've met my' new pupil yet." He motioned for me to step forward. "This is Teochi Hiyume, a Chunin from the Village Hidden in Grass.

Kankuro stepped backwards. Apparently he'd had enough of talking with girls for the day. Temari, on the other hand stepped forward. "Hi Hiyume. I am Temari." She smiled and held out her' hand.

I shook her' hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Temari."

She smiled. "This is my' brother, Gaara of the Desert Sand, the Kazekage of the village of Sand." She gestured to the red headed boy who stood at her' left shoulder.

Gaara nodded politely. "Hiyume."

I nodded back to him. "Gaara." I could see that Gaara was not anymore talkative than Sasuke. _What is with the guys around here? They're either hyper knuckleheads… or they're cold, taciturn, idiots!_

Temari nudged her' teammates. "Well, we had better go now. We'll see you guys later. It was nice to meet you Hiyume." She called as the three of them walked off.

* * *

**_Sasuke's POV:_**

I turned to Kakashi and Hiyume. Where did you two disappear to?" I asked.

Kakashi shot me an innocent look. "Hiyume and I were just discussing our' favorite pastimes." He said.

I rolled my' eyes. _Yeah right! _I glanced at Hiyume who was holding a twig and watching the spider that was crawling on one end.

"Yes, I was telling Kakashi sensei about the time when I was ambushed by a bunch of pirates, and I had to fight a crackin in order to escape." She said with a perfectly strait face.

"What's a crackin?" Naruto asked.

"Oh it's this terrible sea monster." She said. "It's known as the ruler of the sea and resembles a gigantic octopus that swallows whole ships. Its' mouth is full of fangs, and it stalks the sea, devouring everyone who crosses it's path."

Of course the blond knucklehead believed every word Hiyume said. His' eyes grew wide and he gasped. "Oh man! I never knew that sea monsters were real!"

I rolled my' eyes as the others (Naruto being the only exception) broke out into fits of hysterics.

"That story was even better than some of mine." Kakashi gasped.

_Not that you set the bar real high. _I thought.

Hiyume bowed dramatically. "Thank you, thank you." She replied laughingly.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked.

Sakura smacked him lightly on the back of the head. "You dope." She said. "You actually believed that crazy tale?"

Naruto's blue eyes widened again. "You mean it was all fake?"

Hiyume nodded. "I was just joking Naruto. There's no such thing as a crackin." She told him.

Naruto laughed. "Too bad." He said. "It would have been cool to meet someone who had really fought a sea monster."

This just set them to laughing even harder. Even Shikamaru was in stitches.

I rolled my' eyes. _This is soooo stupid!_

* * *

**_Hiyume's POV:_**

I glanced about and saw that everyone was laughing at my' little joke- everyone that is, except Sasuke.

I know that Sasuke has never had the best sense of humor, but I was always able to get him to laugh when we were kids. I grinned as an inspiration hit me. This was going to be a riot!

Being extremely quiet, I tiptoed up behind the ice cube and flicked the spider I had been looking at down the back of his' shirt.

"Aaaaaaaah!" He screeched, sounding hilariously like a six-year-old girl.

I swear he jumped a mile!! I burst out laughing as I watched him leap about shaking his arms and trying to get the poor little spider out of his' shirt.

Sakura and Ino rushed forward with exclamations of, "Sasuke-kun! What's wrong?!"

The rest of us, Kakashi included, were howling with laughter.

"Leave me alone!" Sasuke growled, shoving Ino and Sakura away. He had finally managed to dislodge the spider from his' shirt and now stood glowering at me.

Note: Though it may be unnerving to some, Sasuke's glare does not faze me!

I grinned at my' enraged cousin. "What's the matter Uchiha? Can't you take a joke?" I inquired innocently.

"What the heck did you do that for?" Sasuke exclaimed. His' sharingan was activated and I had to stop myself from activating my own.

"To get you to lighten up a bit!" I replied. I was having so much fun!

"Leave! Me! Alone!" Sasuke paused in between each word for emphasis.

"And! If! I! Don't?!" I asked, mimicking his' enraged voice.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Believe me." He said. "You'll regret it!" He turned to leave.

I smirked. "Bring it on, chicken butt head!"

He froze. "What?"

"Is your' hearing impaired?" I asked. This was going even better than I had expected. "I said, bring it on!"

He turned back to me and there was a wicked glint in his' eye. "Are you saying that you want to fight me?"

I rolled my' eyes at him. "Are you always this slow?"

He eyed me coldly. I knew exactly what was going through his' mind.

"Tomorrow. Noon. The center of the training grounds." He said.

I nodded. "I'll be there."

He smirked. "You are so dead!" With that, he turned on his' heel and left.

I smiled. "We'll just see about that." My' scheme was working even better than I had expected it to. I couldn't wait until tomorrow!

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**Well, I hope you liked it.**

**Remember, Reviews are greatly appreciated. (No flames please.)**

**Until next time, **

**This is Yaruhi, over and out!**


	3. Fighting Styles

Late that night, long after Sakura had fallen asleep, I got up and headed for the training grounds. I needed to think.

I had done my' research before coming to Konoha and therefore I knew what Sasuke could do. He had graduated from the academy as the top in of his' class and he was said to be the best rookie in Konoha. Of course, being the Uchiha prodigy, he was able to achieve all of the trademark Uchiha justsus with precision and expertise.

But I too had accomplished all of these feats, as I too was a member of the legendary Uchiha clan.

He had learned the Chidori. But so had I. He had figured out how to perform the Lotus, but I had a friend in "Grass" who used that move and I had learned how to counter it. Thus, none of these achievements really worried me. But even so, there was one thing that was bothering me.

During my investigation, I had come across a single file in which had been recorded something that had occurred during the Chunin exams, a brief encounter with a one, Orochimaru, the Snake-nin and former student of the Third Hokage.

The information in this file had been vague and facts were sketchy, as though whoever had made the file wished to keep what had occurred undisclosed.

I had then looked up information on this, "Orochimaru" character, only to find out that he was considered a class "S" criminal, that he had mastered the ability of sealing himself within the body of another and thus had attained a level of immortality. I also learned that it had been during a battle with him, that the Third Hokage had sacrificed his' life. Also recorded in the files was the fact that Orochimaru had, at one time, lived in Grass.

Finally, I came across a certain bit of information that caught my' attention. One of the proctors of the Chunin exam had once been a trainee of Orochimaru's. During this time, he had left her with a mark on the back of the neck. Once again, the details on this mark were sketchy, but from what I could tell, the mark gave the host added strength when the host's energy reserves have been depleted. I recalled having heard that in the third level of the chunin exams, it had appeared as though Sasuke would lose. But then he suddenly rallied with a new, almost supernatural surge of strength and went on to win the match. It had caused me to wonder if perhaps this Orochimaru hadn't done something to Sasuke akin to what he had done to the proctor.

I looked up to see that I had reached the training grounds. I also saw, to my' surprise, that I was not alone. Three shinobi, about my own age were training in the middle of the night.

I deftly swung myself up into a tree and proceeded to move from tree to tree towards the trio.

Finally, I halted. I was suspended, nearly thirty feet in the air above the place where the three shinobi were training.

The first was a hyper looking boy in a green jumpsuit with a bowl shaped haircut and uncannily bushy eyebrows. He was rapidly executing one-handed pushups.

The second, a weapon loaded girl with brown hair pulled up into twin buns was skillfully hurling torrents of kunai, shuriken, and senbon into targets with faultless precision.

The third, I instantly recognized to be of the Hyuga clan on account of his unusual pearl-like eyes, which are characteristic of his clan. He had long, dark hair, pulled back into a lose ponytail and a determined expression on his face.

It appeared that the two boys were beginning a spar. The one with the crazy eyebrows settled into a stance. The Hyuga boy did the same and activated his' Byakugan.

I knew even before the kunai shot past me, missing my' face by a mere fraction of a centimeter, that those powerful, white eyes had spotted me.

"Come out!" He called. "I know that you are there." I jumped off the branch, gracefully landing directly in front of the Hyuga.

He looked me up and down. "Who are you?"

"When inquiring as to the name of a person it is generally expected that one should first give his own name as a sign of politeness." I replied evenly.

He frowned. "I've heard that line before…"

The girl nodded. "That's exactly what the Uchiha boy told you at the beginning of the Chunin exams."

I smirked. It made perfect sense since I had been the one to teach Sasuke that line.

The boy glared at me. "Hyuga Neji."

I nodded. "Teochi Hiyume."

His' head cocked to the side. "Fire Dreams eh?" He asked referring to the meaning of my' alias.

I smirked. "Hai. And your' name means, "screw", does it not?"

He nodded. "Hai."

The other boy stepped forward saying, "Yosh! I am Rock Lee, the handsome devil of the leaf village! If you would honor me by being my' girlfriend, I will protect you with my life!" He shot me a gleaming smile that would have had toothpaste companies begging him to work for them.

I shot the Hyuga a questioning look. He shook his head.

"Leave her alone Lee." The girl said. She stepped forward and extended her' hand to me. "Konichi wa. I'm Tenten, the weapon's mistress of Konoha." She nodded to the boys. "Don't mind them. They're like that sometimes. What can I say? Boys will be boys."

I grinned. I liked this girl.

"So what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" Tenten asked.

"Just out for a walk. I couldn't sleep. What about the three of you?"

She shrugged. "Neji and Lee insist on training at the oddest times. Personally, I think they're rather loopy." She pointed to her' head and made a circular motion. "Ya know what I mean?"

I gave a little laugh. It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps these kids could help me. I turned to the one called Neji. "Wait, did you say that you know Uchiha Sasuke?"

He gazed at me coldly. "What is it to you if I do?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about his' fighting style?" I told him.

"Why do you want to know?" He inquired suspiciously.

"I've just moved here from the village of Grass and the Hokage assigned me to cell seven. I won't go into the details but the long and short of it is that I ended up making a deal to fight him tomorrow at noon. I know he's and Uchiha and that the Uchiha are good with fire and that they have the Sharingan as their' kekkei genkai. I was just wondering if there was anything particularly about his fighting style that I should be aware of." I explained.

The three of them looked at me in surprise. "Wow! How did you get him to even agree to fight with you? He's generally under the impression that he is so far superior to everyone else that he won't even give them the time of day!" Tenten exclaimed.

I smirked. Based on what I had observed thus far, that sounded like a pretty accurate description of my cousin. "It wasn't hard. I simply delivered a little prick to his pride."

Neji smirked. "Mental manipulation huh? That might serve you well when fighting with Sasuke." He eyed me for several moments, and then said, "Alright, I'll give you a few pointers about him.

Number one: He's good. Very good! He's mastered all of the Uchiha trademark jutsus to an art.

Number two: His' energy reserves are far stronger than that of a normal person his' age. So don't underestimate him. He's been taught the Chidori. He excels in Ninjutsu. His Taijutsu is fair but not particularly out of the ordinary with the exception of the Lotus, which he learned by watching Lee with his Sharingan, so be careful that. If he has any weakness it would definitely be located in Genjutsu. From what I've seen his comprehension of illusions and mirage effects is limited and he's never been presented with an opponent whose specialty was genjutsu other than in the land of waves."

I nodded. I recalled Sakura telling me about cell seven's battle with the rogue ninja Zabuza and his' assistant Haku in the land of waves. As I recalled, Sasuke was nearly killed by that encounter and the only reason he hadn't been was on account of the fact that Haku had purposely spared his life.

"Thirdly, and possibly most importantly: Sasuke has a curse mark on the back of his neck that was given to him by Orochimaru. I've never seen it in action except at a distance but Shikamaru told me that it spreads and takes over his' body giving him extra strength in the process." Neji looked me firmly in the eye. "Be wary of it, I do not know the particulars but that it is from Orochimaru, and thus, it must be malicious for Orochimaru is the very picture of wickedness and anything from him is certainly meant for evil."

So, what I had suspected was, indeed, the truth. "Thank you very much for the information, Neji. It will help me a great deal tomorrow, I think."

He nodded and gave me an odd look. "Be careful of Sasuke. He's not your' average Shinobi."

I nodded. "Well, I should probably attempt to get a little sleep before I have to fight him tomorrow so, goodnight for now Neji, Tenten, Lee." I nodded to the three of them and then turned and headed back towards Sakura's house.

_So…_I mused. _His' weakness lies in Genjutsu…_ This was very good news for me because my' strengths lie in Genjutsu and Taijutsu, Genjutsu being the superior. I am fair in Ninjutsu, but, with the exception of my' fire dancing, it is my weakest area.

I slipped inside Sakura's house and back into my' bed. As my eyes closed, I couldn't help the smile that stole over my features. Tomorrow's fight was looking better and better…

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**Hey Everyone! **

**What did ya think of this chappie? I hope everyone liked it.**

**Reveiws are greatly appreciated! (No flames please.)**

**Yaruhi**


	4. Marks and Seals

**_(Hiyume's POV:)_**

I arrived at the training grounds at twelve o'clock on the dot the next day.

Sasuke was already there, waiting for me. "Cutting it kind of close aren't you?" He hissed. Apparently he was still pretty angry over my prank.

I found his lack of humor irritating, but I suppressed my' feelings and retorted with an even, "Not at all Uchiha. Where I come from it is rude to arrive early as well as late. Therefore, we make it a point to always be prompt and arrive on time to any appointment no matter how insignificant and trifling it may be."

I barely held in my grin at the murderous look that appeared in his eyes. Oh boy was he mad!

I glanced about me to see that quite a crowd had gathered to watch us duke it out. I recognized cell 11 and the team from Suna, and, of course, Sakura and Naruto were there also. There were several teams I did not recognize as well as Kakashi, the fifth Hokage, Tsunada and several other Jounin and Chunin level shinobi. Then I caught sight of the team that I had met just last night. Neji, Tenten and Lee stood in the crowd.

Tenten and Lee waved at me, Lee with ten times the enthusiasm. Neji, on the other hand, simply nodded at me and mouthed the words, "Be on your guard."

I nodded and turned back to Sasuke who was still fuming. "Well?" I asked with a hint of cockiness in my voice. "Are you just going to stand there glaring all day, or are we going to start this thing?"

Sasuke smirked. "Say your' prayers Hiyume. You're going to need them!"

I grinned. "Your going to be needing the last rites by the time this is done. Now quite stalling Chicken butt head and let's get on with it!"

Sasuke let out a growl and rushed at me. I instantly executed a transfer jutsu and reappeared standing on an outstretched tree branch directly above.

He looked about, trying to figure out where I had gone. He had not yet activated his' Sharingan.

"Yo! Uchiha!" I called. He swung about and glared up at me.

"It's going to take more than some lame transfer jutsu to beat me!" He snarled.

I smirked. Everything was going according to plan. When we were little I had always been able to get the better of Sasuke by first getting him to lose his temper and lose control before delivering a hard blow. Thus I had decided to put the same strategy into affect by distributing all of these previously calculated pricks to his ego, which was obviously quite large.

Sasuke blew a large fireball at me and then hurled several demon wind shuriken at me. I was able to deflect all of them using Taijutsu. I had the advantage in that I knew much of Sasuke's fighting style while he knew nothing of my own. Since I did not want to lose that edge, I remained on the defensive, analyzing his moves while using only Taijutsu and the simplest ninjutsus to counter.

Sasuke smirked pompously. "So… you want to fight this out using Taijutsu eh? Well, I'm okay with that."

He began to do some moves that I instantly recognized as the Lotus. I pretended to be surprised. "You can do the Lotus?" He smirked. Never underestimate an Uchiha.

I allowed him to get in a couple of hits, causing it to appear as though I had no clue as to how to counter the Lotus. Then he went for the last part of the Lotus, the Barrage of Lions! Now I got to get in my licks! I waited till the last second and then used a jutsu to counter Sasuke's move. "Forbid the Lion no jutsu!" I exclaimed. Sasuke suddenly found himself hurtling up through the air.

I disappeared and reappeared directly below his freefalling form. I smirked. I was far from done. "Barrage of Dragons!"

* * *

_**(Sasuke's POV:)**_

I was falling fast and whatever that jutsu that she had used was, it was preventing me from using any form of jutsu to keep myself from hitting the ground. I braced myself for a hard landing. Suddenly, I heard a shout from directly below me. "Barrage of Dragons!"

_What on earth…?_ I didn't have the time to complete that thought for the next instant something slammed into my' back with the force of a hurricane! I went flying… again.

I slammed hard into a tree trunk and collapsed to the ground, breathing hard. _Get up idiot!_ I admonished myself._ You can't give up now! What would Itachi say if you were beaten by a girl?_

I got to my knees but almost cried out as a searing pain shot through me. I lifted my' shirt and stared in shock at the place where Hiyume had struck me. A glowing red mark had appeared on the skin in the shape of a dragon.

I turned and stared at Hiyume, my Sharingan activated. "What the heck was that and what is this mark?"

She smirked. "That was the 'Barrage of Lions'. It is a special jutsu, which combines both, Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. The mark on your' abdomen is a sort of temporary seal. I have transferred some of my chakura from me to you and it will slowly cut off your' chakura supply from the rest of your' body, much like the 'Gentle Fist" technique of the Hyuga clan. Except that, with this jutsu, the more energy and force you use, the more powerful the seal becomes and as the seal becomes more powerful, it will make it more and more difficult for you to fight."

I stared at her and could feel my anger level rising by the second. "It'll take more than that to stop me!" I hissed. The curse mark on the back of my neck had begun to burn.

She smirked. "Really, well then let's see? Show us just how strong you are Uchiha!"

The curse mark was burning like crazy now and it was all I could do to keep it under control. I painfully got to my feet and attempted to do my Chidori. A white-hot pain shot through me from the seal on my abdomen and I fell to the ground, barely able to keep from crying out.

Hiyume walked over to where I knelt. "Well, well, will you look at that? The great Uchiha Sasuke can't even stand up." She looked down at me and smirked. "You disappoint me Sasuke. I had expected the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan to be able to hold his own. No wonder your' brother thought you were to weak to even worry about killing!"

That was the last straw! The curse mark on my neck erupted into a legion of markings all over my body. I felt a new power surging through my being and stood up. I smirked at Hiyume's awestruck expression and said. "Who said I was done?"

* * *

**_(Hiyume's POV:)_**

I stared at Sasuke as he moved towards me. His face was covered in strange markings and he seemed to be filled with a new power- an evil power.

Something told me it was time to initiate the Genjutsu faze of my plan.

Sasuke raised his right hand, his palm facing towards me. "Chidori!" He barked. His hand glowed a bright bluish color and he ran a full speed towards me…

* * *

**_(Sasuke's POV:)_**

I rushed at Hiyume who stood stalk still, waiting. I reached her and my hand plunged into her creating a gapping hole in the center of her chest. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly as though she was trying to say something, but no sound came out. Her' blood was pouring over my hand which had gone straight through her chest and out her back. The color drained from her' face and blood began to stream steadily from her mouth.

My' eyes widened as I watched the blood flowing from the ghastly wound that I had inflicted. The curse mark had overtaken me, both in body and soul and controlled my mind. Now, as the marks receded to the original mark and my mind began to clear, I saw what I had done and realized that I had killed her.

I wrenched my blood-covered hand away and took a step backwards. Her legs buckled and she fell to her knees. The blood was literally coming in floods by now.

I gasped. "Oh my gosh! What have I done?!"

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**Hey Everyone!**

**I know that this was kind of a short Chapter and I hope to get the next one out soon. **

**Sorry for those of you who have a problem with cliff hangers. **

**Anyways, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated, and those of you who do reveiw have my undying gratitude. (No flames please.) Okay, I'll stop being so dramatic now.**

**So until next time, **

**this is Yaruhi, over and out!**


	5. The Secret Revealed!

**_(Flashback:)_**

**_Sasuke's POV:_**

_My' eyes widened as I watched the blood flowing from the ghastly wound that I had inflicted. The curse mark had overtaken me, both in body and soul and controlled my mind. Now, as the marks receded to the original mark and my mind began to clear, I saw what I had done and realized that I had killed her._

_I wrenched my blood-covered hand away and took a step backwards. Her legs buckled and she fell to her knees. The blood was literally coming in floods by now._

_­­­­­­­**(End of flashback:)**_

I gasped. "Oh my gosh! What have I done?!"

I heard a loud voice behind me shout, "Teme! What did you do to Hiyume chan?!" I turned slightly to see Naruto jog up, a scared expression on his face.

I looked at him, speechless then turned back to Hiyume. She looked up at me.

"S-Sas-suke…?" She took one last gasping breath and fell limply to the ground.

I moved towards her but Naruto pushed me back. "Get away from her Teme!" He shouted. "You've done enough already!" He glared at me accusingly. "This was just supposed to be a spar. But no, you had to take it to far as always and get back at her! You just had to get your revenge on her for playing a harmless prank on you. How could you Sasuke?!"

I shook held my hands out in front of me and shook my head. "No!" I said, taking a step backwards. "I didn't mean to!"

Naruto ignored me as he felt for Hiyume's pulse. I waited, fearfully. _She isn't dead…_ I told my self._ She couldn't be_. But as I looked at her motionless figure, lying on the ground, and covered in blood, pale as a ghost, and still as death, I knew that it was true and that I had killed her.

I dropped to my knees beside Naruto who shook his head despairingly. "She's gone." He whispered miserably.

I shook my head, refusing to accept it. "No!" I reached out and took hold of Hiyume's still hand. It was shockingly cold. _No living person is this cold. _I thought. I looked at her, once so strong and full of pride, now so delicate and fragile. The feeling of guilt and remorse overwhelmed me. "Hiyume…" I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Suddenly, something hard crashed into the side of my' head and I went flying. I hit a tree hard, knocking the breath out of my lungs. Before I could fall to the ground, several kunai came flying, and pinned me to the tree trunk.

I looked up in shock to see Naruto standing in front of me with a kunai aimed at my chest.

I gazed at him in shock. "N-Naruto?"

He didn't answer just stood there glaring at me.

"Naruto…" I gasped. "What are you doing?!" Suddenly, "Naruto" began to change. The whisker marks in his cheeks faded and his tanned skin lightened. His topaz eyes darkened and his body changed shape. His blond hair changed to a deep black and grew long. Within less than five seconds Hiyume stood before me, straight and strong, not a drop of blood on her.

"**Hiyume?!" **I gasped. I looked over her' shoulder to the spot where I had seen her die. It was empty! I looked back at her. She was gazing at me intently, a slight smirk playing on her' lips.

"But… it can't be!" her' smirk grew. "Why not? Really Sasuke, did you actually believe that I could be beaten that easily?" She stepped forward and pressed the kunai against my throat. Her' smirk disappeared and her' eyes turned to ice as she glared at me. "I assure you, I'm much stronger than that!"

My eyes widened. Did she intend to kill me? "But…How?" I gasped.

She smirked. "You said it yourself Sasuke." She leaned closer and spoke in a low voice. "Never underestimate an Uchiha!"

Suddenly, her eyes flashed the blood red of the Sharingan, the symbol of the Uchiha clan!

I gasped, as did everyone in the crowd. "Who- who are you?!" I shouted. She smiled. "Sasuke, you disappoint me. Don't tell me you've already forgotten the one who was your best friend in the world when we were younger."

I hung there; staring at her blankly when suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks! _**"AYAME?!"**_ I fairly shouted. "No! It can't be! You're dead; you've been dead for years! Itachi killed you!" I was screaming out of control by now.

She smiled. "I thought you were dead too Sasuke. I was very glad to find that I was wrong."

I gazed at her with eyes as wide as pie pans trying to keep my emotions under control and failing miserably at it. Ayame waved her' hand and the kunai dislodged from the tree trunk, releasing me. I dropped to my feet. And she walked up to me. "I missed you cousin!" She said with a smile.

I swallowed hard. I didn't know what to think much less say. But as it turned out I didn't have to say anything, for at that moment, Ayame threw her' arms around me, enveloping me in a tight embrace. After a moment, I returned her embrace and leaning down, I whispered into her' ear, "I've missed you too!"

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**Hey everyone! **

**What did ya think of this chappie?**

**Sorry it was so short, but I wanted to have this one all by it's self.**

**As always, reviews are greatly appreciated! (No flames please.)**

**A big THANK YOU to Braniac5 for her' reviews! Thank you!**

**Until next time, **

**Yaruhi, over and out!!**


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